1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a perforate metal foil cooking sheet for supporting an item of food during cooking of the food in a rigid open-bottom pan.
2. The Prior Art
Hot food articles, such as pizzas, are frequently prepared at the place of consumption, and the article may be sized to constitute a single serving. It has been found that in attempting to bake such articles rapidly, there is a tendency for the baking to be uneven. This problem is heightened by the fact that the same equipment will typically be used for baking a pizza that begins in the frozen state as well as one that begins in the unfrozen state, and of course, the degree of freezing can vary from point to point on a particular pizza, thereby causing uneven rising, uneven baking and uneven browning, and in some instances even causing burning before the article is ready for consumption. There can be superficial overcooking with inadequate rising of dough. To resolve such problems, in the past, a separate oven has been utilized to thaw the dough before baking, and such an arrangement becomes burdensome in that the operator needs to use two ovens, needs to have multiple opening and closing of doors, and is placed at a disadvantage in needing to estimate baking time.
A concept for solution to the foregoing heating problem is provided by the oven of U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,069. This oven has a vertical axis helical track of several levels with electric heating elements in between the track levels and a rotatable reel for advancing circular food packages down the track and over the heating elements.
An important feature of U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,069 is the provision of an open-bottomed pan or tray having an annular rim with an inner and outer periphery raised up off the bottom of the rim. The inner periphery supports an item of food in the tray and the outer periphery extends upward to a level above the inner periphery for retaining a food item in the pan and on the inner periphery. Between the inner and outer peripheries there is provided a depressed gutter for collecting and trapping juices and cooking run off from a food item being cooked in the pan.
The pan disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,069 is known to operate as described therein and to be very useful for cooking.
However, because the pan itself collects and traps the run off and drainage from a food item being cooked, the pan needs cleaning between each use. The pan is very difficult to clean because of the recess in which the cooking drainage collects and further the drainage tends to char just like the black deposits on a conventional oven broiling pan and it will be appreciated that these deposits must almost always be manually removed with cleanser, steel wool or other abrasive cleaning procedures.
Another severe problem encountered with the pan or tray of U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,069 is that when the tray and food item are discharged from an oven, the tray will be at about 600.degree. F. (315.degree. C.) and is absolutely impossible to touch. The only method possible for removal of the cooked food item, and it is necessary to remove the food immediately to keep it from cooling off, is to use a pliers-type tool and to flop the cooked food item out of the tray much like flopping a pancake out of a frying pan. People attempting to use this tray and method are always in danger of being burned and the hazard is considered excessive and commercially objectionable.
A further problem with the prior art is that the food item will sag downward through the open bottom of the tray and be scraped or burned by contact with and against the oven interior structure.